Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, and this story is not for profit.
TEN
Despite the strange and unsettling experience Beth had at the Devil's Nest, it wasn't the last trip she took there. She was busy with dance practice most of the time, and she still went to the library when she could, but lately she sometimes chose the Devil's Nest as her place of choice when she had some free time. More often than not, Greed wasn't even there when she got there. But she was getting to know the chimeras pretty well and oddly enough she always felt welcomed by them, even if they werean intimidating bunch.
Listening to their sad histories made her feel more connected to them more than she usually did to most people. In her own selfish world she had always considered herself to be the unluckiest person on the planet. Talking to them reminded her that there were people who had it off worse than she did.
It was strange to consider how much her life had changed since she met Greed. Before, she had really had spent almost all her time alone. Now when she was home there was Timmy the bird and usually Greed too. When she wasn't in practice or school she could always come here to the Devil's nest where there was Martel and Roa and the like…
But even stranger to consider was how much they all looked up to Greed, like he was some kind of hero. The way they told it, he had rescued them from all of their unhappy lives. When she laid out all the facts, it almost seemed like Greed did have some good qualities.
Like the other night, when she came home from practice, he had told her to cover her eyes.
She was instantly suspicious. "What? Why?"
They had argued and he had finally dragged her into the room and covered her eyes with his own hand.
When he told her to open, there was a brand new bookshelf standing in her room, all of the shelves full of brand new books.
"What…how…"
"A buddy of mine owes me a few favors. I had Roa and Dolcetto move it into your apartment while you were gone today."
"No, I mean, how did you know that I…"
"Like books? I used to wait for you outside the library, remember? And you think I don't notice how you switch on the light after you think I'm asleep and pull out a book from under the pillow?"
She blushed. It always surprised and amazed her how much he seemed to notice.
She didn't know what to say. Finally, she decided on the two words that were most appropriate for the situation. "Thank you."
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Don't mention it, kid."
She looked up at him from under her lashes, longer than she should have. He was so tall. And his arms were crossed over his chest, accentuating his muscular arms. His black eyes were shining as he noticed her noticing him. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she thought the whole neighborhood must be able to hear it.
"You know," she said, slowly taking off her jacket and throwing it onto the floor, "you can be surprisingly generous sometimes." She took a step closer to him.
He matched her step for step until he was so close he had to turn her head up to look at his face. "I hate to burst your bubble, pigeon, but I never do anything generous."
"No?"
"Nope. When I do something for someone, it's because I expect to get even more in return."
"And what did-"
Her words were cut off as she burst into laughter when he grabbed her and they both fell onto her bed.
…
Later that night, she pulled a book out from under her pillow and started to read.
She was pretty engrossed in the story when she heard rustling behind her. He groaned with sleep, his eyes blinking from the dim lamp she had switched on.
She reached to turn it off. "I'm sorry, I thought you were asleep."
He caught her by the arm, stopping her. His voice was still slightly groggy. "It's okay, I don't need as much sleep as you do."
"Oh, that's right." She turned back onto her side and flipped to the page she had been on last. Instead of turning to the side facing away from the light, he came up right behind her and threw an arm around her waist.
She thought his eyes were closed until she came to a funny part in the book. Behind her, she heard him softly chuckle.
He did it again when she came to another funny bit.
They carried on like that almost the entire night, her reading a book and him following along with her over her shoulder.
And then for the next several nights after that.
….
Far away in Drachma, a sorcerer looked on into the fire, and saw pictures of people and places, near and far.
Flickers of the country to the south appeared, and he paused. Stepping closer to the fire, he looked closer at the goings-on of Amestris. "I wonder how my little dancer is getting on these days."
It had been several years since he had made the bargain with Beth. Unparalleled dancing skills that could take her anywhere she wanted, as long as she was able to keep the homunculus Greed faithful to her. Fail to do that, and she would lose everything. And he would win everything he had been wanting for the last almost twenty years.
And he knew she would fail.
He was one of the few people who knew about the existence of homunculi, and he even knew about Father. Whether any of them knew about him, he did not know. He doubted it. Amestris was a country of science. Of technology. The people of Drachma had much more respect for the old ways, and several of them still believed in magic, wisely. Beth had been one such child, which was how she ended up approaching him about the bargain. But soon she would have to pay.
There were easier ways he knew to win this bargain, but he liked drama. And games. And he had found it irresistible to imagine someone trying to keep a homunculus faithful. The only way that it could happen would require the homunculus to fall in love. And he knew that was impossible. It could as easily have been one of the others, Wrath or Envy perhaps, but Greed seemed the most like a real man. One of the others and Beth wouldn't have had a shot to begin with, besides maybe Lust. And Greed was just hot blooded enough for it to be a challenge.
He knew the two of them had met recently, but he also knew that so far she had indeed managed to keep him faithful. He was impressed. Beth was lovely and special, he knew. But it was truly impressive to have kept Greed faithful to her this long from what he knew of the man.
He looked closer now, and he could see the two of them together.
He couldn't hear what they were saying. Well he could, but that would require too much power and energy than he was prepared to sacrifice at the moment.
But he could see their faces.
They were playing some type of card time, not at Beth's place. It must be the Devil's Nest. Greed was sitting at the table, and there were other men there too in a circle. Beth was standing behind Greed, her arm around his shoulder.
He was saying something to her, frequently looking up at her face but also turning around to the other gamblers as if to let them know he was serious about the game, too.
Whatever he said made her laugh.
He held up his cards and she blew a kiss at them for luck.
With a quick and violent swish the sorcerer threw his cape over the fire, smothering it to ashes.
He had to think about this for a moment. The look on Greed's face was startling. His eyes had shined when he looked at Beth. It shouldn't have been that surprising…for him to have stayed loyal this long there had to be some manner of devotion there.
It was the look on Beth's face that worried him. She had looked at Greed almost like she cared.
Was he in trouble?
No. Impossible.
But he might need to call in some help to deal with this situation, if things started to get out of hand.
He walked away from the smothered fire, smoke still rising up in the air.